tag:typepad.com,2003:weblog-517935 2010-03-13T11:11:56-05:00 A Washington DC mom, novice yogi, environmentalist, writer, editor, and communications professional, Jen blogs her observations on being engaged and staying present. TypePad PuddleJumpingInDchttp://feedburner.google.com tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef0120a931eedd970b 2010-03-13T11:11:56-05:00 2010-03-13T11:13:22-05:00

A couple of weeks ago Maya began announcing "I'm a princess!" and spinning in a circle. For the life of me, I couldn't figure out where she was getting the princess influence. None of our toys or books involve princesses. None of the videos we were aware she'd been watching had princesses. Maya's princesses had a very specific association: twirling. This morning, Maya requested the "elephant and Elmo" Youtube for the first time in several weeks (after watching it some 14 times in 24 hours when we first found it). And suddenly, it all made sense. Forsooth. (There has been an exponential increase in princesses exposure since the princess announcements began thanks library books and rented videos. We expect much more.)

studiojmm http://puddle-jumping.com/2010/03/the-origins-of-a-princess.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef0128777136b2970c 2010-02-07T06:28:12-05:00 2010-02-07T06:37:19-05:00

Some mornings can seem rather cold and uninviting. But compared to yesterday morning? Not so much. Snowmageddon, Snowpacolypse, snOMG!, pick-your-nickname-for-the-blizzard, hit Washington DC on Friday night and looks like it has shut us down at least through today and possibly tomorrow. Somewhere north of 2 feet of snow fell in our yard between Friday afternoon and Saturday evening with 30 odd inches being reported in the suburbs just north of DC. Heavy, wet snow took out trees and power lines around the region, leaving tens of thousands without electricity on Saturday. All three regional airports had canceled all flights by mid-day Saturday; Amtrak shut down most trains in and out off DC, and Metro canceled bus service and above ground rail service. For the first time in 30 years, the Post Office took a snow day. (more) Harris Teeter stayed open . . . We watched a steady stream of...

studiojmm http://puddle-jumping.com/2010/02/snowmageddon-2010.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef01287685478f970c 2009-12-27T12:20:29-05:00 2009-12-27T12:27:13-05:00

Two long drives, lots of kid-cousins, playing, laughing, eating, and merry-making, and many, many presents later, we're back in DC thinking we could probably use a week off to recover from our week off. Hope your holidays were/are happy. Snow on Mom Mom's deck, originally uploaded by Studiojmm.

studiojmm http://puddle-jumping.com/2009/12/happy-holidays.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef012875c1c36f970c 2009-11-21T07:58:40-05:00 2009-11-21T07:58:40-05:00

Bug loves, loves, loves peanuts. The sound of the jar being opened elicits excited chirps and happy dances followed by frantic chirps and pacing if a peanut does not materialize quickly enough. If Bug is out of her cage, do not expect to open a peanut jar in peace. This is something she and Maya have in common. Mac never read the increasingly common advice not to give children peanuts until they are three. And since Daddy likes to snack on peanuts, Maya has been eating them since early in her 2nd year. Consequently, both toddler and parrotlet answer the call of the peanut jar: "chirp, chirp" "Want some." Maya solicits a cookie from Amanda during our trip to London.

studiojmm http://puddle-jumping.com/2009/11/on-small-children-and-very-small-parrots.html tag:typepad.com,2003:post-6a00d8341c638753ef0120a6577a23970b 2009-11-05T23:44:05-05:00 2009-11-05T23:44:05-05:00

According to the U.S. Census Bureau 2.3 percent of commuter trips in Washington DC are by bicycle. This whoops a truly pathetic national average of 0.55 percent, and I'm proud to be a part of it. According to Bay Area Bikes bike to work calculator, I saved $8.28 by not driving and saved the earth 19.4 lbs of toxic emissions over the course of my 20 mile round trip ride from the home to work and back. Now, I wouldn't have driven if I hadn't biked because both my home and office are very Metro-accessible, but I definitely saved $5.70 in Metro fare. One of the nice things about my new job is that it is very bike friendly with a secure bicycle room and a locker room with showers. I love that I get a good workout on the way to work and it's a very pretty commute, actually....

studiojmm http://puddle-jumping.com/2009/11/saving-money-through-green-means-enjoy-the-ride.html